MAY 21, 2016 : SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 346

Reading 1JAS 5:13-20

Beloved:
Is anyone among you suffering?
He should pray.
Is anyone in good spirits?
He should sing a song of praise.
Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the presbyters of the Church,
and they should pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick person,
and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah was a man like us;
yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.
Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain
and the earth produced its fruit.

My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you should stray from the truth
and someone bring him back,
he should know that whoever brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.

Responsorial PsalmPS 141:1-2, 3 AND 8

R. (2a) Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O LORD, to you I call; hasten to me;
hearken to my voice when I call upon you.
Let my prayer come like incense before you;
the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O LORD, set a watch before my mouth,
a guard at the door of my lips.
For toward you, O God, my LORD, my eyes are turned;
in you I take refuge; strip me not of life.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.

AlleluiaSEE MT 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 10:13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”
Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "Receive the kingdom of God like a child"

Do you seek to help others draw near to the Lord Jesus? The parents who brought their children to Jesus wanted Jesus to lay his hands upon them. They knew of the healing power, both physical and spiritual, which came from Jesus' touch. Jesus, in turn, rebuked his disciples for hindering the children from coming. No doubt the disciples wanted to shield Jesus from the nuisance of noisy children. But Jesus delighted in the children and demonstrated that God's love has ample room for everyone. 

Pray for the young to grow strong in faith
No one is unimportant to God. He comes to each person individually that he might touch them with his healing love and power. Do you show kindness, interest, and care for the youth you encounter in your neighborhood, home, and church? And do you pray for young people that they may come to know the love of Jesus Christ and grow in wisdom and maturity as his disciples?

Why does Jesus say that we must receive the kingdom of God like a child (Mark 10:15)? In the ancient world children were at the bottom of the social ladder. They had no rights or privileges of their own and they had no means or resources to care for themselves. They were totally dependent on their parents for everything they needed. Scripture teaches us that we are totally dependent on God as our eternal Father and Provider. We owe our very existence to him because he is the Creator, Author, and Sustainer of life. We could not find our way to God if he did not first seek us out and draw us to himself. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to show us the way to the Father. 

The Lord Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin, Satan, and death, and to adopt us as children of God - his beloved sons and daughters. Jesus taught his disciples to not only honor and respect God as our eternal Father, but to trust in him with great confidence for everything we need - just as children naturally trust in their parents for all that they need. God gives generously to those who put their trust in him, who approach him with child-like simplicity and humility, and with expectant faith that he will treat them as a loving and merciful Father rather than a cold and stern judge or tyrant. Do you trust your heavenly Father to give you what you need to live as his son or daughter? 

Do you seek to help others draw near to the Lord? 
Our great privilege and responsibility is to live as true and faithful sons and daughters of God and as loyal citizens and ambassadors of his heavenly kingdom. And our chief responsibility is to pass on the faith, wisdom, and gifts which we have received from God to our young people and to those who do not yet know God that they may find true joy and everlasting life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ready and eager to pass on your faith and experience of God's action in your life to others, especially to the young who need guidance, encouragement, and the godly example and witness of those who have discovered the true source of happiness in knowing, loving, and serving God?   

"Lord Jesus, may we never hinder our youth from coming to you to receive your blessing, help, and abundant life. Make our youth strong in faith, hope, and love that they may find true joy and fulfillment in following you as their Lord and Savior. And as we grow with age, may we never lose that child-like simplicity and humility which draws us ever deeper into your loving presence."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: When the reception of grace begins, by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.

"The apostle praised one [Timothy] who had known the holy Scripture from infancy (2 Timothy 3:15). He also instructed that children be reared 'in the discipline and correction of the Lord' (Ephesians 6:4). So we consider every time of life, even the very earliest, suitable for receiving persons into the community of faith." (excerpt from THE LONG RULES 15)

www.dailyscripture.net

SATURDAY, MAY 21, MARK 10:1-16
Weekday
(James 5::13-20; Psalm 141)

KEY VERSE: "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (v 14).
TO KNOW: Jesus told his disciples that they must serve the simple and lowly ones of the Christian community (Mk 9:36-37). He warned them that grave punishment awaited those that gave scandal to these "little ones" (v 41-50). When some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them, his disciples rebuked the parents for being a nuisance. Jesus was indignant at their insensitive behavior. He told his followers that it was only the childlike who were worthy to enter God's reign. Children knew that they were powerless and must depend on their parents to provide for their needs. Well-trained Children were humble, obedient, loving and trusting. Those who humbly obeyed God's Laws and depended upon God with trust and love possessed the attributes necessary for God's reign.
TO LOVE: Who are the hurting children in my life that need my loving embrace?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, hold me in your arms as your little child. 

Optional Memorial of Saint Christopher Magallanes, priest, and companions, martyrs

Christopher Magallanes and his twenty-four companion martyrs were members of the Cristero movement, a response to the anti-Catholic government in Mexico in the 1920s. The government was determined to weaken the Catholic faith of its people. Churches, schools and seminaries were closed; foreign clergy were expelled. Under the Cristero movement, members pledged their allegiance to Christ and to the church that he established to spread the Good News—even if Mexico's leaders had made it a crime to receive baptism or celebrate the Mass. Christopher's last words were: "I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico". These martyrs were beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.

ARMED FORCES DAY

Armed Forces Day honors all branches of the armed forces of the United States. In the USA, it is celebrated on the third Saturday of May with military exercises on land, at sea, and in the air. Military installations are usually open to the public on Armed Forces Day. President Harry S. Truman proclaimed Armed Forces Day, and it was first celebrated in May 1950. It replaced three separate celebrations for the Air Force, Army, and Navy. James V. Forrestal, the first secretary of defense, helped unite the armed services under the Department of Defense after World War II ended in 1945.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Saturday 21 May 2016

Sat 21st. (St Christopher Magallanes & Cc).
James 5:13-20. Let my prayer come like incense before you—Ps 140(141):1-3, 8. Mark 10:13-16. 

Readings

Who is worthy?

Who have we stopped from coming to Jesus? Who have we turned away because it was just too hard to keep on reaching out? Who have we judged as unworthy of ‘bothering’ Jesus? Have we stopped ourselves for the same reason? Do we feel that we need to ‘have it together’ or have already produced something of great value before we can come before Jesus with our smallness? What a great reminder in today’s gospel that the Kingdom of God belongs to those who welcome it like a little child: in awe and wonder, in honesty, in openness, in trust, in abandonment to love, and in curiosity deeply lived in each moment.

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Good Morning, Lord!

We greet the Lord as we rise so that we may offer our first thought, our fresh words to the One who can carry us through our busy day. Before our feet hit the floor or our children rise or our minds are filled with the busy events of the day, we take a moment to talk to our gracious God.

— from Talking to God

May 21
St. Crispin of Viterbo
(1668-1750)

Crispin, who lived during the Age of Enlightenment, showed the enlightenment that gospel living provides.

Born in Orvieto, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. In 1693 he received the Franciscan Capuchin habit and the name Crispin. After serving as a cook at Tolfa and Albano, he was the official beggar of the friary in Orvieto for almost 40 years.

He developed a reputation for curing the sick and catechized those he encountered in his work. The poor and needy recognized him as their friend. One of Crispin’s favorite sayings was, "God’s power creates us, his wisdom governs us, his mercy saves us." He was canonized in 1982.

Comment:

Henri de Lubac, S.J., once wrote, "We should have a great love for our age, but make no concessions to the spirit of the age, so that in us the Christian mystery may never lose its sap" (The Splendor of the Church, p. 183). Crispin appreciated the people whom God brought into his life and the historical period in which God placed him. Crispin became a living gospel for his confreres and for the people of Orvieto. His holiness encouraged them to live out their baptism more generously.

Quote:

During his homily at Crispin’s canonization, Pope John Paul II said that the human family is frequently "tempted by false autonomy, by denial of Gospel values, for which it necessarily needs saints, that is, models who concretely express by their lives the reality of Transcendence, the values of the Revelation and Redemption achieved by Christ" (L'Osservatore Romano 1982, Vol. 26, No. 1).

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 10,13-16

Lectio Divina: 

 Saturday, May 21, 2016

Ordinary Time

1) OPENING PRAYER

Father,
keep before us the wisdom and love
you have revealed in your Son.
Help us to be like him
in word and deed,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) GOSPEL READING - MARK 10,13-16

People were bringing little children to Jesus, for him to touch them. The disciples scolded them, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. In truth I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' Then he embraced them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.

3) REFLECTION

• The Gospel of two days ago indicated the advice of Jesus concerning the relationship of the adults with little ones and with the excluded (Mk 9, 41-50). Yesterday’s Gospel indicated the advice on the relationship between man and woman, husband and wife (Mk 10, 1-12). Today’s Gospel indicates the advice on the relationship between parents and sons. Jesus asked for the greatest acceptance for the little ones and the excluded. In the relationship man-woman, he asked for the greatest equality. Now, with the sons and their mother, he asks for the greatest tenderness.

• Mark 10, 13-16: Receive the Kingdom like a child. People brought little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples wanted to prevent this. Why? The text does not say it. Perhaps because according to the ritual norms of the time, the small children with their mothers lived almost constantly the legal impurity. To touch them meant to become impure! If they touched Jesus, he would become impure! But Jesus does not feel uncomfortable with this ritual norm of legal purity. He corrects the disciples and welcomes the mothers with the children. He touches them, embraces them saying: “Let the little children come to me, do not stop them: for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs”. And he comments: “In truth I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”. And then Jesus embraces the children and blesses them, and laid his hands on them. What does this phrase mean? (a) The children receive everything from their parents. They cannot merit what they receive, but live from gratuitous love. (b) The parents receive the children as a gift from God and take care of them with the greatest possible love. The concern of the parents is not to dominate the children, but to love them, educate them in a way in which they can grow and be fulfilled!

• A sign of the Kingdom: To welcome the little ones and the excluded. There are many signs of the acting presence of the Kingdom in the life and the activity of Jesus. One of these is the way of welcoming, of accepting the little ones and the children:

a) To welcome them and not scandalize them. One of the hardest words of Jesus was against those who cause scandal to the little ones, that is, who are the reason so that the little ones no longer believe in God. For them it is better to have a millstone hung round their neck and be thrown into the sea (Mk 9, 42; Lk 17, 2; Mt 18, 6).

b) To identify oneself with the little ones. Jesus embraces the little ones and identifies himself with them. Anyone who receives a child, “receives me” (Mk 9, 37). “And as long as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me”. (Mt 25, 40).

c) To become like children. Jesus asks the disciples to become like children and to accept the Kingdom as they do. Otherwise it is not possible to enter into the Kingdom (Mk 10, 15; Mt 18, 3; Lk 9, 46-48). He makes the children teachers of adults! And that is not normal. Generally, we do the contrary.

d) To defend the right that children have to shout and yell. When Jesus, entering into the Temple, turned over the tables of the money changers, the children were those who shouted the most: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Mt 21, 15). Criticized by the high priests and by the Scribes, Jesus defends them and in defending them he recalls the Scriptures (Mt 21, 16).

e) To be pleasing for the Kingdom present in little children. Jesus’ joy is great, when he perceives that the children, the little ones, understand the things of the Kingdom which he announced to the people“. “I bless you, Father!” (Mt 11, 25-26). Jesus recognizes that the little ones understand the things of the Kingdom better than the doctors!

f) To welcome, accept and take care. Many are the little children and the young whom Jesus accepts, takes care of and raises from the death: the daughter of Jairus, she was 12 years old (Mk 5, 41-42), the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Mk 7, 29-30), the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7, 14-15), the epileptic boy (Mk 9, 25-26), the son of the Centurion (Lk 7, 9-10), the son of the public officer (Jn 4, 50), the boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish (Jn 6, 9).

4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS

• In our society and in our community, who are the little ones and the excluded? How do we welcome and accept them?

• In my life, what have I learnt from children concerning the Kingdom of God?

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

Yahweh, I am calling, hurry to me,
listen to my voice when I call to you.
May my prayer be like incense in your presence,
my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141,1-2)

www.ocarm.org